U.S. Nun Abducted, Freed by Contras
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — U.S.-backed rebels attacked a village in northern Nicaragua, killing 13 civilians and abducting 10, including an American nun who was later released unharmed, officials said Wednesday.
Maryknoll nun Nancy Donovan, 52, of Waterbury, Conn., and nine Nicaraguans were seized during the attack by the rebels, known as contras, Maryknoll officials and Nicaraguan diplomats said. The attack was directed at the village of San Juan de Limay, 84 miles north of Managua.
Rebels of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force killed 13 civilians, including nine Construction Ministry workers and two officials of the Natural Resources Institute, according to Myriam Hooker, a Nicaraguan Embassy spokeswoman in Washington. Three civilians were injured in the attack, she said.
“The contras just freed her, apparently because she was an American,” Hooker said of Donovan.
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